Smirk: A Stepbrother Romance

by Wilde, Ora

  Phoebe kept looking around, visibly in awe at the spectacle of her surroundings. There were a few times when she touched the wall to make sure, perhaps, that it wasn’t made out of fur.

  That was cute.

  There were only two doors in the hall. The first door was the penthouse suite, the most expensive accommodation in the hotel, and even in the city. It was my room for the night.

  Our room, to be more exact.

  But before I could bring her there, I must first disarm her defenses by making her feel like the most special woman in the world. After all...

  Hayden’s Life Lesson No. 39: Treat her like a princess and she’ll give you the key to her chastity belt.

  The second door led to the veranda, a rooftop garden overlooking the city. It was a romantic place as it was, but I made sure that it would become even more idyllic with the modifications I requested.

  “This place looks so... empty,” she shared her observation as we approached the said door.

  “Really?” I responded. “Phoebe... the only thing empty here is my heart...”

  She raised an eyebrow as if she didn’t believe what she just heard.

  “... and it has a sign on top of it which reads SOLD TO MS. ELLISON,” I continued.

  She clicked her tongue and gave me a playful shove.

  “That is the most inane line I’ve ever heard,” she said, “one which I didn’t expect from the likes of you, Mr. Summersmith.”

  “What can I do?” I replied. “Love makes the wisest man a fool.”

  I opened the door and the fragrance of Heliotropes and Mignonettes greeted us. Countless flowers clung to the pillars of the trellis that led to the outer edge of the balcony. On top of the pathway were even more flowers dangling over us, showering us with their petals from time to time.

  I stared at her and saw the look of astonishment on her face. She - wide-eyed and stunned in her white top and twenty dollar jeans, her hairstyle that exuded with innocent charm - was quite a sight. It wasn’t the first time I did something like that for a girl, but the others... they seemed to have expected it. Some even felt they deserved it. She, on the other hand, didn’t even know what was happening.

  As we neared the center of the balcony, a violin started to play. The song: You Are So Beautiful, by Joe Cocker. The tempo: slow and romantic.

  Her eyes got wider as she heard the serenade of the instrument played by a single man, wearing a tux and who advertised his services at Craigslist. I wasn’t disappointed.

  The violinist was stationed right beside a round table, covered by an elegantly velveted cloth. A wine bottle was at the center, surrounded by two glasses, plates made of Fine China, and utensils molded from pure silver. A waiter approached us and politely smiled. He extended his hand graciously towards the table.

  She kept looking around the place, mesmerized by the clear nighttime sky sprinkled with stars. A new moon was up, and the air was cold. At the horizon, the bright lights of Los Angeles glimmered like fireflies dancing around a sea of black.

  “Wow...” she uttered, a single word that was so soft, so timid, that I almost didn’t understand it.

  “What’s so wow about this?” I asked her though I already knew the answer.

  “H-How much did all of these cost?” she questioned rather shyly.

  “Not as much as you’d think,” I replied. “I feel terrible about it, though.”

  “Terrible? Why?”

  “The choir I hired couldn’t make it tonight.”

  “Choir?!”

  “I’m just kidding,” I clarified with a wide grin as I pulled out the chair for her.

  She was too staggered to laugh. She took a seat and kept looking around in seeming disbelief at how much I have prepared for that night. She asked how much it cost. I wouldn’t dare tell her the amount, but it was damn sure less expensive than my Hummer.

  “Hayden, I... I... I don’t know what to say...” she mumbled yet again.

  “Hush, m’lady,” I told her, as I sat on the chair opposite her side of the table. “Just enjoy this evening and all my efforts would’ve been worth it.”

  “O-Okay...” she falteringly replied, as she bowed her head, retreating to the reticence of her ways... the same reticence I wanted to diffuse in an hour or two.

  A few minutes of silence followed. I waited for her to speak, but she didn’t. So I asked what I hoped was an effective icebreaker.

  “Are you single?”

  “W-What?” My question caught her by surprise.

  “Are you single? Or are you seeing someone?”

  “Oh... no, no... I’m not dating anyone... I’m... well... to be honest... I’ve never dated anyone before.”

  “As in ever?”

  “Well, our first date excluded, of course.”

  Just as I expected.

  “I find that hard to believe,” I said.

  “Oh please, Hayden... I know that statement is preparatory for an overly flattering remark that is so untrue.”

  “What? Are you expecting me to say that I can’t believe that you haven’t dated anyone before because you’re so pretty?”

  “Or a similar adjective, yes.”

  “Well... I’m so sorry to disappoint you, Ms. Ellison.”

  I saw a hint of dismay on her face. It was fleeting. It happened so fast. But it was a hint nonetheless... and a sign that my approach was working.

  “Oh...” she responded, a bit ashamed for her erroneous presumption.

  “I can’t believe you haven’t dated anyone before because I’m usually never this lucky.”

  “Huh? What do you mean?”

  “That I’m very lucky. Imagine... how many guys have you turned down? Yet, you said yes to me.”

  “What? It’s not even like that, Hayden...”

  “Pffft. Make up any excuse you want,” I answered as I filled up our glasses with wine. “But tonight, I will toast to my good fortune!”

  And finally, she giggled. The first time she ever did since we arrived at the penthouse garden.

  Hayden’s Life Lesson No. 73: If you can make a woman laugh, you can make her do anything (stolen from Marilyn Monroe).

  I asked her to taste the wine I prepared, a Domaine Leroy Echezaux Grand Cru, but she refused... quite frantically if I may add. The incident at the Japanese resto was probably fresh in her mind, as she got so drunk she mustered enough bravado to actually beat up the goon I hired.

  Dinner was served: a sumptuous array of caviar, escargot and foie gras; a hearty portion of ribeye steak with mashed potato on the side; and a delicious helping of white chocolate truffles to cap things off.

  The music never stopped even as we ate. She got uncomfortable at times, pitying the violinist more than anything else. She didn’t have to say anything. The unease in her eyes revealed her feelings. I just mouthed that it’s alright, that he was well compensated for, and that she should just enjoy her meal.

  She did.

  “I’m sooooo full,” she commented after taking her last bite.

  Good.

  Hayden’s Life Lesson No. 75: Treat a girl with a great meal and she’ll treat you with a great lay.

  We talked about a variety of things afterwards. Her hobbies, her interests, her likes and dislikes, her plans for the future... I made sure that the conversation revolved around her so that she’d get the idea how interested I was with her. She gamely answered every question I asked.

  We talked for a good period of time until we ran out of things to discuss. She said something to break the silence.

  “So... your dad’s gonna marry my mom, huh?”

  Oh boy. I was actually enjoying that night, but she just had to mention that.

  “Yep,” I nonchalantly answered.

  “We both didn’t know, right? That was an awkward moment, when you brought me home and they parked behind us...”

  “Yep,” I repeated, hoping that my obviously insouciant answers would inform her that I didn’t want to talk about it.
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br />   “We’ll be a family soon,” she said with a tinge of gloom in her voice. She still wouldn’t stop talking about the matter.

  “Yep.”

  “You and I will be siblings.”

  “Yep.”

  “So... this would be the last time we’d do something like this, right?”

  I paused for a while before I gave an answer.

  “Yep.”

  “That’s... that’s too sad... but I guess it is what it is,” she uttered, the tint of moroseness has become full blown despondence.

  “Well... we’re not brother and sister yet,” I tried to reassure her with a smile. “Let’s just enjoy this moment. The night is still young.”

  She smiled back.

  “Okay then,” she gleefully remarked. “What do we do next?”

  I thought she’d never ask...

  Chapter 26

  PHOEBE

  There are many things I regret in my life.

  I regret not buying that nice white dress at Walmart when I was eighteen because I thought I’d get it for a cheaper price somewhere else. When I finally decided how much I wanted it, it wasn’t on the shelf anymore, and the saleslady said it was the last stock.

  I regret not visiting my father when we were still in Chalfant when he and my mom just got divorced. I was too afraid that he’d reject me... that he’d pretend he didn’t know me... all because he already had another family. Years went by, and now, I know for certain that he wouldn’t even give me the time of the day.

  I regret failing to submit an application form to UC San Diego, where their medicine and pre-med programs were the bests in the country. UCLA was not a bad choice, but UC San Diego was in a league of its own.

  Allowing Hayden to bring me to his room on the same floor where we had a marvelous dinner was one of the things that will always haunt me. For years to come, I knew that I would always want to bang my head on the wall whenever I would be reminded of that moment.

  I didn’t know why I said yes.

  I didn’t know if I actually said yes.

  He just led me there, and I followed... willingly... as if I was hypnotized by his charms that my feet just moved towards the direction he has set. No words were spoken during the slow walk towards his chamber as he was holding my hand and I made no attempt - not even the slightest effort - to break away. He just went there... and I followed.

  His room was gigantic. It was bigger than the square area of our house at Van Nuys. There was a loft overlooking a bed that was bigger than two queen sized bunks. There was a kitchen, a living room with a TV that was almost as big as the screen at the Twin Theater in Bishop, a twenty-three kilometer bus ride away from Chalfant which was the closest movie house from our place.

  There was a bar, too, with a glass cabinet that housed a variety of alcoholic beverages.

  But Hayden didn’t offer me a drink.

  No.

  He led me towards the mirror beside the bed, the glass of which was so big, it could’ve reflected half-a-dozen people standing side-by-side.

  He held my arms and positioned me so that I could see my reflection. Then he went behind me, caressing the bare skin of my arms with so much gentleness that caused goosebumps all over.

  He started to kiss my neck.

  It shouldn’t have happened. But again, I didn’t do anything to stop it.

  His tongue slid its way up and down the surface of my neck, and it felt good. It stirred up my senses into a weird kind of frenzy... like I wanted something so bad and I would do anything - anything - just to gratify the aching need I was experiencing.

  I couldn’t believe that I was allowing him to do that to me... again.

  It was only when he tried to lift up my shirt, while still in front of the mirror, when I held his hands to express my dissent.

  I saw his reflection as he looked at me. He was smirking.

  “Are you afraid?” he asked.

  I was terrified. I didn’t want him to see me... all of me... vulnerable and naked. I didn’t want him to see how flabby my arms really were without the illusion created by thinly strapped dresses. I didn’t want him to see the extra flesh I had around my hips. I didn’t want him to see the ugly marks above my pelvic area, created by years of forcing myself to fit into size 37 jeans.

  I was too busy being petrified that I failed to answer his question.

  “Don’t be,” he whispered with a comforting tone. “You are beautiful.”

  And with those words, he proceeded to undress me. Off went my shirt, and he quickly unbuttoned my jeans thereafter. I didn’t know what has gotten into me as I actually helped him out by removing my shoes with my feet, one after the other.

  I was down to my underwear, and instinctively, I covered my breasts.

  Duh, Phoebe! Of all the things you didn’t want him to see, you chose to cover your best assets?

  He unclasped my bra with one flawless motion. He seemed like an expert. He has done it before. Countless times, most probably. He pulled it out and threw it on the floor. I continued to press my arms across my bosoms.

  He removed my hands, though, and replaced them with his. He fondled my mounds, tenderly, lovingly, as if they were fragile balloons filled with water that he didn’t want to burst. As he was doing that, his warm lips travelled through my neck to my ear, which he licked so sensually well.

  One hand left my breast and went southwards. He inserted his fingers inside the garter of my thong and immediately reached for my clit.

  I was dripping wet, a fact which he quickly discovered judging from the smile he instantly flashed.

  “I want to make love to you,” he murmured - again, just like the previous night, and all I could answer with was a moan as he speared my womanhood with a finger. I was so damp that it went in with ease.

  I knew I had to stop him.

  I knew I had to say no.

  But the things he was doing... the way my body was responding to his every act... the way my flesh was craving for his touch... the way my heart was screaming his name... I just wanted to savor the moment. Just a minute, I promised myself, a minute of pleasure and I will end it.

  In between the craziness of each second, I wondered: was that still an act, a component of his ruse? Was his bet with Donnie still on? Was that evening a part of it? Should I even care?

  Did I even care?

  He removed his sleeved shirt and his pants. I couldn’t see from the reflection if he took off his undergarment as well...

  But when a rock solid... thing... was squeezed between his body and the base of my spine, I knew... I knew... that he was completely naked.

  And that turned me on even more.

  He began to move his hips, up and down and circularly, against the bottom of my back while he continued to slurp and nibble at my ear, fondle my breast, and spear my vagina with his finger. The massive form of his erection became very apparent as he pulled my body towards his... making me feel more of him... making me feel all of him.

  And the minute I promised myself?

  It went by quicker than the drop of an iron ball.

  Then, he inserted his foot between my feet. He pushed my right foot towards the side until my legs were spread wide apart.

  His hand left my breast and he placed it on my back. He pushed me downwards until I bent forward, my palm resting on the mirror for support.

  He held his shaft and rubbed it vigorously, making sure that it was hard enough. He positioned it right on the opening of my womanhood, before giving me a look. He had that smirk again... a smirk that seemed to ask: are you ready?

  I closed my eyes and braced for the worst...

  For deep inside, with whatever sanity I had left, I knew...

  I knew...

  I wasn’t ready...

  Chapter 27

  HAYDEN

  “You sure, bro?”

  Donnie’s question was hardly innocent. He had that mocking tone, a less-than-furtive attempt to gloat about his victory. We were friends, yes.
That made the embarrassment less difficult to bear. But it also made the pain of the loss harder to forget.